May 27, 2022

Edmonton Oil Kings to represent Eastern Conference in 2022 WHL Championship

2022 WHL Playoffs edmonton oil kings

Chris Wahl

The Edmonton Oil Kings will represent the Eastern Conference in the 2022 WHL Championship.

The Oil Kings claimed the Eastern Conference Championship Friday with a 7-1 victory over the Winnipeg ICE at Rogers Place in Edmonton, winning the series in five games.

Edmonton started the game with a bang, scoring three times over a 55-second span early in the first period.

Those three goals included a pair from captain Jake Neighbours over the course of eight seconds.

The St. Louis Blues prospect gave his Club a 2-0 lead at 4:52 before extending the Oil Kings advantage at 5:00 of the opening frame, coming within a second of matching a WHL Playoffs record for fastest two goals by one player in the process.

Montreal Canadiens prospect Kaiden Guhle added a fourth first-period marker to give Edmonton a 4-0 lead through 20 minutes of play.

The Oil Kings added three second-period goals before Connor McClennon broke Sebastian Cossa’s shutout bid with 2:40 remaining in the third period.

Congratulations to the @EdmOilKings for winning the 2022 Eastern Conference Championship! pic.twitter.com/NMXksJAQu8

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 28, 2022

Forward Carter Souch (2G-2A) and Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Guenther (0G-4A) led the Edmonton attack in Game 5 with four points each, with Guhle (2G-1A) and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jakub Demek (1G-2A) adding three points apiece.

Detroit Red Wings first-rounder Sebastian Cossa turned aside 19 shots to earn his 12th win of the 2022 WHL Playoffs.

With the victory, the Oil Kings advance to the WHL Championship for the fourth time in modern Club history (2012, 2013, 2014). Edmonton captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup in both 2012 and 2014, adding a Memorial Cup crown in the 2014 tournament held in London, Ont.

The Oil Kings now await the winner of the Western Conference Championship between the Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds.

Kamloops leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game 6 slated for Sunday, May 29 in Kent, Wash.